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UNIVERSITY BULLETIN 
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY 

Voi,. I— N. S. September. 1910 



No. 9 



f " . * "^^^ 



■s 









Ex-Slave Pension Frauds, 



BY 



WALTER L. FLEMING. Ph. D. 

Professor of History 
in Louisiana Stale University 



Reprinted from the South Atlantic Quarterly, April. 1910 



BATON rouge; 

Ortlieb's Printing House 
1910 



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1 



Ex-Slave Pension Frauds. 

By Walter L. Fleming. 

Professor of History in the Louisiana State University. 

Next to the "forty acres and a mule" swindle* the slave pension 
schemes have drawn more hard earned dollars from the ex-slaves 
than any other of the numerous frauds perpetrated on them. 
Unlike the "fort}'- acres and a mule" swindle, which was contrary 
to the interests of the Southern whites and was therefore opposed 
by them, the pension fraud owes much of its success to the fact 
that influential Southern whites have favored slave pensions and 
have spoken or written or introduced bills in Congress to secure 
them, and numerous Camps of Confederate Veterans have pro- 
posed or endorsed the pensioning of faithful slaves. So the old 
negroes have felt that, after all the promises made, something 
surely was due them. 

While the pension fraud is not one of the Reconstruction swin- 
dles, it is not of recent origin. The state of mind in black and 
white that made it possible dates from the returning good feeling 
between the races after the downfall of Reconstruction. There 
was some talk of it and some resulting swindling during the 80's, 
but the most important movement began with the early 90's and 
was not effectually checked for ten years. The former slaves were 
growing old, often too old to work, and the idea of pensions 
appealed strongl}^ to them. 

The immediate cause of the great swindling movement of the 
90's was the activity of one man whose intentions, however 
mistaken, were probably sincere. This man was William R. 
Vaughan, a native of Alabama, a Democrat in politics, who re- 
moved to the Northwest and was at one time mayor of Council 
Bluffs. He was an eccentric person, probably ill-balanced men- 
tally, and was possessed by two ideas: that the South was being 
robbed by the Federal pension system, and that the negroes by 
slavery had been robbed of proper returns for their labor. In 
order to right these wrongs he originated his slave pension scheme 
and between 1890 and 1903 secured the introduction into Con- 
gress of nine bills in succession. These bills were introduced "by 

*See North American Review, May, 1906. 



[ 4 ] 

request" bA' Connell of Nebraska, Cullum and Thurston of Ne- 
braska, Mason of Illinois, Curtis of Kansas, Pettus of Alabama, 
Blackburn of North Carolina, and Hanna of Ohio — all men of 
standing. The bills were identical, each one providing that ex- 
slaves should be made pensioners of the United States and that 
pensions should be granted according to the following scale: 
negroes 70 years old and upward to receive $500 cash and $15 
a month; those 60-70 years old to receive $300 cash and $12 a 
month; those 50-60 years old to receive $100 cash and $8 a 
month; those less than 50 years old to receive $4 a month.* 

To push the bills in Congress several organizations were formed, 
the first of them by Vaughan himself, the others by tricksters who 
grasped the opportunity to gather a golden harvest. Vaughan 
declared that he formed his slave pension plan as early as 1870, 
but not until 1890 did he begin to organize his work. In 1890 he 
published a small book entitled "Vaughan's Freedmen's Pension 
Bill, A Plea for American Freedmen," which contained a sketch 
of prominent negroes, opinions of Vaughan and others about 
slave pensions, and a number of S3'mbolic pictures, such as Jus- 
tice giving reparation (pensions) to the blacks; negroes working 
in cotton, cane and tobacco fields, with this sentiment attached: 
"Southern products grown by stolen negro labor for over a hun- 
dred years;" a woman (the South) handing gold (Federal pen- 
sions) to another woman (the North); and on the inside cover a 
slave in chains laced on the opposite page b}^ a picture of W. R. 
Vaughan of Selma, Council Bluffs, Chicago, and District of Colum- 
bia. This book was sold for one dollar to help defra}^ expenses. 
The first edition of 10,000 was sold in one j'ear, and several new 
editions were printed. In 1892 a large poster containing about 
the same matter was published. It also contained a picture of 
Vaughan and his five sons, all "pledged to plead that justice be 
done America's former slaves by the United States government 
and Great Britain." 

The circular announced the organization of a secret order en- 
titled "\'aughan's Ex-Slave Pension Club." Tlie object of the 
club was to elevate the race, to act as a fraternal order, and to 
assist Vaughan in getting information about ex-slaves with a 
view to securing pensions for them. Any negro over sixteen years 

•See Senate bill 1176, 56 Cong., 1 Sess., and House bill 114.04, 57 Cong. 1, 
SesB. 



[ 5 ] 

of age could join, but, the circular stated, "no white person will 
be allowed to join said organization except it be a member of the 
family of the originator of the order." The headquarters of the 
societ\^ were in Chicago where Vaughan lived. Should any 
negroes wish to organize a branch of the Society they might, 
Vaughan said, send one of their number to Chicago "to obtain 
the secret work, grip, pass-word, etc. I will initiate such in the 
Chicago or Parent Lodge and give them full authority to estab- 
lish such subordinate orders. For the present there are but two 
secret degrees. It is my purpose to increase the degrees within 
the next twelve months. The paraphernalia, masks, secret work, 
etc., for each subordinate lodge will cost $25." 

Numerous branch clubs were established, and the certificates of 
membership state that each person paid twenty-five cents entrance 
fee and ten cents a month dues, the proceeds to be used in push- 
ing the pension bill. On all these certificates appear Vaughan's 
picture and the member's slave record, that is, the date of 
his birth, name of his master, etc. In 1897 Vaughan issued 
a circular denouncing by name individuals who were imitating 
his methods in order to get money from the negroes. He 
warned the ex-slaves that he was the sole author of the pension 
bill and that it was copyrighted by him; others claiming to be 
his agents were swindlers. 

Until 1897 Vaughan's headquarters seem to have remained in 
Chicago, but in that j^ear they were removed to Nashville, Ten- 
nessee. Vaughan, whose title had been Grand National Director, 
delegated his authority to one P. J. Hill to whom all records 
and secret work were turned over. In a circular announcing the 
change Vaughan stated that no persons would be "considered by 
me" or be entitled to any benefits under Senator Thurston's bill 
"without they hold a certificate" from Hill. A year later the 
name of the order was changed to the "Ex-Slave National Pen- 
sion Club Association," and local clubs were notified that unless 
they sent in their dues they would be dropped. Agents w^ere 
urged to push the work, to induce other ex-slave organizations 
to unite, and thus make a strong organization that could "make 
old Rome howl." 

For several years Vaughan continued the work of collecting 
fees from the negroes and agitating in a small way the matter of 



[ 6 ] 

slave pensions. Rival societies gave him much trouble, so in 1899 
to help in the work he established a newspaper called the U. S. 
Department News-Eagle* The paper had a semi-official ap- 
pearance and name to which the Uuited States authorities objected, 
and publication w^as stopped. In 1902 Yaughan's "Justice Party" 
appeared. The old organization had fallen into the hands of 
rivals, and Vaughan invented a distinctive title for his new order 
which emphasized the injustice to the South of the Federal pen- 
sion laws. 

In 1903 Vaughan succeeded in getting his pension bill re-intro- 
duced by Senator Hanna, and since then nothing has been heard 
of him. He expended, he said, $20,000 in the pension work, but 
there is no doubt that he made more than he spent. The Com- 
missioner of Pensions in 1899 estimated that he had collected 
$100,000 in dues. Such was the history of the more honest part 
of the slave pension movement. 

The other organizations were all fraudulent, designed mereh-to 
secure money from the ignorant blacks by the most barefaced 
misrepresentations. The most noted were the "National Ex- 
Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association," and the 
"Ex-Slave Petitioners' Assembly." Smaller organizations w^ere 
the "Western Division Association," the "Ex-Slave Pension Asso- 
ciation of Texas," and "the Ex-Slave Pension Association of 
Kansas." In every Southern State there were also numerous 
local organizations, all formed b}- shrewd negroes to fleece their 
own race, and in addition to these there were numbers of indi- 
vidual swindlers not connected with any organization. Of all the 
swindlers the worst were I. II. Dickerson and Mrs. Callie House, 
two negroes who for several years conducted the "National Ex- 
Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association." Dickerson 
was for a time one of Vaughan's agents but was suspended with 
others for embezzlement. He and the others at once organized a 
new society and with literature and blanks stolen from Vaughan 
went to work. The}' copied Vaughan's methods, detached his 
followers to themselves, and even used his name in their litera- 
ture. The National Capital, later the National Industrial Advo- 
cate, published in Nashville, was their official organ. Mrs. House 
was the leading missionary of the order and was sent out to form 

•U. S. Department News-Eagle, Dec. 1899, Jan. 1900. Washington Star, 
Sept.l, 1890. 



[ T ] 

branches. Unlike Vaughan, Dickerson and his agents often falsely 
represented that the pension bill had become law and that those 
who wanted pensions must join his order. Dickerson and Mrs. 
House were so reckless in their promises to the blacks that the 
Post Office Department forbade them the use of the mails, and the 
headquarters were then removed to Washington. Driven from 
there they returned to Tennessee, and then again went to Wash- 
ington. So closely were they watched that they were unable to 
keep up their organization. At one time they claimed 600,000 
members, old and young, each of whom was supposed to pay 
twenty-five cents entrance fee and ten cents a month dues. 

The "Ex-Slave Petitioners' Assembly" of Madison, Arkansas, or- 
ganized in 1897, was managed by three negroes. I. L. Walton, 
the secretary, published a paper called the Ex-Slave Assembly, 
in which he published regularly the old pension bills making it 
appear that they were laws. He announced that he had accepted 
the agency for the slave pension business and authorized his 
agents to collect from each member twentj^-five cents and to for- 
ward each name with ten cents to him. In 1899 agents were 
authorized to collect money on the highway without organizing 
clubs. At that time Walton claimed 285,000 members, and in one 
issue of the Assembly he published the names of 130 travelling 
agents. Walton would himself enroll names at twenty-five cents 
each; to agents and others he sold constitutions and rituals at 
fifteen cents each. Agents were permitted to write letters for 
publication in the Ex-Slave Assembly, but when they were too 
long the writer had to pay for printing them. Walton was 
driven out of business in 1899 by a "fraud order" of the Post 
Office Department. The smaller orders sooner or later suffered 
a like fate. 

Various methods were used in the field by the agents of these 
societies and by the local swindlers. Some of the agents were 
honest, but most of them were dishonest; the methods used and 
the results were similar. Each pension organization had numer- 
ous representatives who went over the South explaining to the 
negroes the pension scheme. Sometimes they represented them- 
selves as agents of the United States Pension Office, and often 
without transgressing the law they managed to create the im- 
pression among the negroes that they possessed authority from 



[ 8 ] 

the government to enroll and receive fees from claimants for 
pensions. The usual procedure was as follows: an agent, usually 
a "professor" or a "reverend," went into a negro communit}^ 
made a speech in the negro church to announce his business, and 
then proceeded to organize the ex-slaves into a club which paid 
$2.50 for a charter, and each member paid twent3'-five cents en- 
trance fee and monthly dues of ten cents. A portion of the fees 
and dues was sent to the headquarters of the organization. In or- 
ganizing the clubs the agent would show papers "with the District 
of Columbia seal which he said authorized him to do this work,"* 
would exhibit and read copies of the pension bills which he would 
say had "passed the White House," or had been read twice and 
had to be read only once more before it became a law. In Illinois 
an agent of the "Petitioners Assembly" warned the members that 
they must not "rite to the white house to find out," for it was 
like a "society," that is, secret. An agent named Butler Harris 
in North Carolina gathered together the ex-slaves, read a chap- 
ter from the Bible, prayed and then made the negroes swear on 
the Bible to give correct information in regard to their masters, 
their own ages, terms of slavery, etc. One rival pension organi- 
zation was denounced by the agents of another. Much emphasis 
was placed upon the fact that some certain man, e. g., Vaughan, 
was the "author" of a bill, and held a "copyright" and that his com- 
pany was "chartered" or "incorporated." Certificates of member- 
ship were given to those entitled b}^ the bills to pensions. In North 
Carolina an agent told those who held this certificate that "it 
must be kept in their trunk" and not exhibited until the proper 
time; he represented his certificate as coming direct from "the 
Department." Some agents, especially those representing only 
themselves, offered reduced rates— one certificate for fifteen cents 
or two for twenty-five cents. 

The promises made to the blacks were numerous and attractive. 
A North Carohna agent offered to secure $75 within ten days for 
a fifty cent fee or $100 for a one dollar fee, and for each additional 
dollar fee a $100 extra pension. Those who paid no fees 
could get no pensions. A Georgia negro agent promised a uniform 
pension of $12 a month for services from 1863 to 1865. The 

♦The quotations in this paper are taken from letters written by negroes to 
the auihoriticB in VVashinKton. These letters are on file In the Interior De- 
partment. 



[ 9 ] 

larger organizations insisted that the fees must continue to flow- 
to headquarters until the pension "passed." One club of ex- 
slaves was informed that the "United States government was 
now ready" to pay pensions of $4 a month to ex-slaves under 
fifty years of age and $8 dollars a month to those over fifty years 
of age. A North Carolina ex-slave wrote to President McKinley 
that a man had promised his "society" that for twenty-five cents 
each he w^ould write a letter to the "Pension Department" which 
would then send them $200 dollars each and a monthly pension 
afterwards. A "ginger-cake nigger" in Virginia called on the 
sick and helpless ex-slaves and convinced them that for a fee of 
one dollar he could secure $200 outright for each man and $50 
for his wife. 

Great show was made by the swindlers of making out and 
carrying away full records of the ex-slaves. The local clubs also 
were required to keep records and to send transcripts to head- 
quarters along with the dues. Some of the record books were 
sent to Washington by United States officers. It is not a pleasant 
experience to look over the long lists of names, w4th the attached 
records of age, master's name, old slavery name, etc., and the 
pitiful accounts of the ten cents monthly dues which were often 
paid for years. Of three books that the writer examined one had 
110 names, another 293, and a third 330. Some lists of mem- 
bers, it is said, ran into the thousands. 

Most of the pension orders distributed printed constitutions 
and rules, with suggestions for exercises at the meetings of the 
local clubs. Poems on slavery and "ex-slave pension songs" found 
a place on the program of the meetings. The various pension 
bills were read each month and explained. To keep the clubs 
together the" Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association" 
and other similar organizations sent out quantities of litera- 
ture to inform and excite the negro members. This literature 
consisted of circulars containing reprints of the pension bills, 
statistics of the amounts due the ex-slaves, pictorial histories of 
the pensions movers — Vaughan, Dickerson, Callie House and 
others — statistics of membership, and denunciation of rival or- 
ganizations. In some sections, notably in Tennessee and in the 
District of Columbia, conventions of pension seekers were held 
under the supervision of the agents. At these meetings the exer- 



[ 10 ] 

cises were calculated to incite those present to a firm belief in the 
certainty of slave pensions. In Tennessee posters were sent among 
the blacks announcing the forthcoming conventions, the programs, 
and speakers. Barbecues were held on convention days, and the 
harvest from the new members was great. The pension bills were 
always read, and very few negroes knew that they were not really 
law. One negro preacher said "I was in a meeting in New Bern, 
North Carohna, where there were over 400 people, and the Thurs- 
ton bill was read and every one in the audience except myself 
beheved it had already passed. Those in charge of the meeting 
collected money and the people gave it freely— forty cents a head." 

The swindlers met opposition from the better class of negro 
preachers and teachers. Consequently in their speeches and in 
the advertising matter sent out the pension people warned the 
negroes that they must expect opposition from preachers and 
teachers who were in league with their enemies. One report 
asked for by the Dickerson-House people from the local clubs was 
for the names of "ministers, teachers and other prominent negro 
opposers." The Interior Department has in its files many pa- 
thetic letters from preachers asking the government to do some- 
thing to stop the frauds which were not only making the black 
people poorer, but were injuring the work of the ministers and 
teachers. The advice given by the pension agents against the 
influence of the preachers and teachers often had serious results. 
Schools w^ere broken up because the teachers pronounced the 
scheme a fraud. Negro ministers lost popularity and influence; 
churches were divided and sometimes ruined. One agent told the 
members of one church that the minister's opposition had delayed 
the pension, and the minister reported that as a result of this 
statement "a great many refuse to tend church on that account," 
and that "these poor people reads only one paper— the National 
Capital, said paper is almost run some of them crazy." A Ten- 
nessee preacher demanded that the movement "be nipted in the 
bud" for it was "a Robery." The letters show that the negro 
ministers withstood temptations, suffered persecutions, and made 
material sacrifices in order to check this robbery of their people. 

The young negroes also often opposed the movement. The old 
negroes were instructed to expect this attitude from those who 
would not profit by slave pensions. Usually it was ordered that 



[ 11 ] 

whites benot consulted; agents only must be dealt with. Whites 
who denounced the movement were to be considered enemies of 
the race and boj'cotted. A circular sent out by Dickerson and 
House stated that opposition had been encountered from minis- 
ters, politicians and teachers which only proved that these men 
were "enemies to the race, fakes, and frauds" and that while 
education is "grand" it is "dangerous for fools to have." One 
minister wrote: "I got the floor to explain to the people that 
they were being deceived, and I got in some dispute with the 
parties and had to get out a warrant and have them arrested for 
obtaining money under false pretenses." 

The pension movement resulted in a considerable correspond- 
ence directed by ex-slaves to Presidents Cleveland and McKinley 
and to the Pension Bureau. Many of the letters excite a reader's 
sympathy, for they frequently lay bare quiet tragedies and always 
pitiful anxiety. A Louisiana teacher wrote that he wanted a job 
to look after the ex-slaves wdio were to get pensions under "Sen- 
itor" Hanna's bill. A petition signed by 110 Alabama negroes 
and sent to McKinley states that "we old people are Whoring 
[worn] out, no good in us now... [we are] praying god to open 
the heart of each congressmen". ..[for] "if any race need pension 
we do need them bader than any Race under the Sun." Another 
letter stated that "ther was a agent saj'ing that the presentdent 
sent her around saying for them to pay 25 cents. ..and she got a 
good many Siners [signers]." A Kansas City negro wanted "sum 
idea of this great Bill now pending known as the Pettus Bill no. 
1176 of Alabama." One old Georgia negro wrote that a man 
had gotten his "pension papers" some time before and fearing 
crooked dealing he instructed the President to "pleas hole them" 
when presented. The officers of a pension club wrote to get news 
of the pension bill, stating that 293 ex-slaves "have pade theare 
25 cent for thear stiffacate." A Florida preacher said that 
"the report did cause a many pore ex-slave heart to rejoice 
with fals Joy for his Pension." Reuben McCoy of Woodlawn, 
Alabama, was disgusted with Dickerson and Vaughan. "I have 
got tired," he w^rote, "of so much foolishness. ..of state celisiters 
and treasure holders," who promised pensions which never came. 
In 1898 a dehghtful letter came to Mr. McKinley from Tennessee. 
"I will set down to Drop you a few lines to let you here from me I 



[ 12 ] 

am will at this time and I hope when this Reach you I hope it will 
find you and all of your famih' Doin Will. ..I am agent for vour 
Life and Distinguished Services and know your wife's name," and 
he wanted news of his pension. A letter from Sparta, Illinois, is 
typical of many received by McKinle}-^ from old negroes. It 
began with the usual polite expressions: "It is with much pleas- 
ure that I write you a few lines to inform 3'ou of my health I am 
well & hope you are the same." He had heard of the pension 
law and suggested to McKinW that "you might send me a 
couple of dollars" in advance. He lived "in a little old Cabin... 
[and] it rains in same as if there was no roof... I am eighty-four 
years old, — stove up with old age and rheumatism." 

So great was the interest of the colored people in the proposed 
pensions and so wide spread were the fraudulent operations of 
the societies which claimed to be working for the ex-slaves that 
the Pension Bureau took steps to disabuse the minds of the old 
negroes in regard to the matter and to check the illegal activities 
of the pension agents. Information was given to the press gen- 
erall}^ and especial!}'- to the colored newspapers, to the preachers, 
teachers, and prominent men in the districts infested by the swin- 
dlers. Beginning in 1896 circulars were sent to all negro men 
known to be active in the slave pension business warning them 
against representing themselves as agents of the government or 
saying that the slave pension bills had become law. Agents who 
pretended to have official authority would be prosecuted under 
a law of 1884 which made it a crime to pretend to be an officer 
of the United States. This action of the Pension Bureau had at 
once a distinctly good effect. A person like Vaughan hastened to 
make clear his aims which heretofore had been vague and mis- 
leading. Some of those who had been claiming official authority 
ceased to do so, others quit the business. 

In answer to circulars some amusing letters were received. 
One agent of the "Ex-Slave Petitioners' Assembly" wrote in reply 
that his business was official and perfectly legitimate and requested 
the pension authorities to strike off for him a lot of circulars 
containing the seal an d endorsement of the Bureau. Man_v wrote 
stating that they had believed themselves to be authorized b^^the 
government. An agent of the Vaughan movement wrote: "If 
I have been wrong in receiving money in this way the National 



[ 13 J 

Convention that was held in Nashville is wrong." This agent in 
1897 was still basing his work upon the Connell bill of 1890. 
One man wrote to McKinley that he had "Rec'd a nice letter 
from the law division" (of the Pension Bureau) and evidently felt 
flattered. A Georgia negro was alarmed and sent an urgent re- 
quest: "please don't authorize an officer to accompany me to 
you, just send me word an I will go as strait to you, as a babe 
to its mother." 

But the swindlers though checked were not stopped. The 
United States authorities in order to prevent fraud by pretended 
officials sent officers to the ex-slave meetings to watch the agita- 
tors and to arrest those who claimed to have authority from the 
government. The Pension Bureau has record of eight or ten 
convictions in United States courts, and many more were secured 
in state courts. This action practically stopped the illegal frauds, 
but the worst swindlers were now operating inside the law — 
collecting money under the pretense of paying the expenses of 
organizing the ex-slaves and pushing pension bills in Congress. 
The leaders in this were again Vaughan, Dickerson, Walton of 
Arkansas, and CalHe House, with two new ones, T. Starr Murfree 
in Tennessee and A. A. Washington in Mississippi. To put an end 
to the schemes of these people the aid of the Post Office Depart- 
ment was asked, and "fraud orders" were issued against all of 
them. As a result none of them could continue his business 
through the mails. It was a deadly blow, and only Dickerson 
and House survived it for any time. They changed their ad- 
dresses several times and tried to work through the express 
companies, but finally they were, it is thought, driven out of 
business. As soon as a money collection scheme based on the 
slave pension idea was heard of, the receiver of the money was 
"fraud ordered" and the old negroes then kept their dimes and 
quarters. Much credit is due the officers of the Interior and 
Post Office Departments for their persistent efforts to run the 
swindlers out of business. 

A remarkable feature of the business is the ease with which the 
members of Congress were unknowingly made to lend their aid 
to these fraudulent schemes. Between 1890 and 1903 ten bills 
were introduced "by request," and not until 1899 did any one 
call attention to the bad results of such bills. In December, 1899, 



[ 1^ ] 

when Senator Pettus introdiiced an ex-slave pension bill, Senator 
Gallinger of New Hampshire, chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Pensions, declared that such bills were harmful because they 
deluded the negroes and subjected them to fraud. Senator Mason, 
who had once introduced the same bill, then said that he was 
convinced that bad use had been made of it. An "immense corre- 
spondence" from all over the South proved to him that it had 
resulted in fraud. Senator Thurston made a similar statement 
as to the results of the bill introduced by him; he said he had 
received about 2,000 letters indicating that the bill had cloaked 
a scheme of fraud. Upon this information and upon a mass of 
facts presented b}' H.Clay Evans, Pension Commissioner, Senator 
Gallinger in January 1900 made a strong report exposing "the 
mischievous features of the movement" in order to prevent the 
introduction of more such bills. Senator Hoar, however, unwit- 
tingly used a few expressions which seemed to show that he 
favored the principle of the measure, and thus unfortunately fur- 
ther swindling was aided. In 1903 Senator Hanna re-introduced 
"by request" the same hoary bill, and with copies of its windlers 
at once descended upon the black South. 

Since 1903 there has been little visible evidence of renewed 
ex-slave pension frauds. It is not illegal and cannot of course be 
made illegal to organize ex-slaves and advocate slave pensions 
and collect money to push the pension bills, but the literature 
and correspondence of the pension agitators cannot be carried 
on through the mails. Some swindling probably still goes on 
and will continue as long as any number of ex-slaves are alive. 
This, however, is done by individuals with no organization be- 
hind them. One of the last cases in which the United States 
secured a conviction will illustrate the utter meanness and the 
tragedy of the business. An old negro woman living near Nor- 
folk, \'irginia, had saved her mone}' and purchased a house, lot 
and well stocked chicken-yard and pig-pen. One spring evening 
about dusk she was sitting in front of her house resting after the 
day's work. A well dressed negro man came to the front gate, 
fired a pistol three times, and marched up the walk to the house. 
"I am an officer of the United States," he told the old woman, 
"see my white pants, see my blue coat, see my pistol. Magnum!" 
All of which impressed the old colored woman, especially the fre- 



PB 1.0.4 



[ 15 ] 

quentlj repeated word "Magnum," which she thought had a 
magic meaning. The negro then announced: As an officer of the 
government I am entitled to free board at your house, to have 
fried chicken and waffles for supper and clean sheets on the bed." 
So he was established as a boarder- The negro woman being an 
ex-slave her boarder offered his services to get her a pension. 
She was on the records, he said, to get lands in far off Arkansas 
and also to receive $700 in gold, but to get the latter she had to 
prepay the "freight" which amounted to $90. A mortgage se- 
cured the $90. The pension agent lived on the best the woman 
could give until she became nervous about the $700 in gold. 
Then he discovered that a slight mistake had been made. She 
was due $1800 in gold without any western lands, but the 
"freight" was $250, A second mortgage secured this and she 
went with him to a public telephone, heard him drop the money 
in, as he said, and ring up the "Department" which would send, 
he told her, the $1800 as soon as the "freight" tinkled in the 
telephone. Since he had consumed the entire substance of the 
old woman, he now left. When the United States authorities 
caught him he was given ten years in the penitentiary. 



Louisi 



1. 



uisiana State University 



and 



Agricultural and Mechanical College 

Baton Rouge, La. 



Is organized into the following Schools and Colleges : 

The College of Arts and Sciences, which offers numerous 

four-year courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts". 

2. The College of Agriculture, which includes the Louisiana 
Experiment Stations, and offers a four-year course leading 
to the degree of Bachelor of Science. 

3. The College of Engineering, which offers four-year courses 
in Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering, and a 
five-3'ear course in Chemical Engineering, each leading to 
the degree of Bachelor of Science. 

4. The Audubon Sugar School, which offers a five-year course 
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science. 

5. The Law School, which offers a two-year course leading to 
the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and a three-year course 
leading to the degrees of Master of Laws and Bachelor of 
Civil Law. 

6. The Teachers College, which offers a four-year course 
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 

7. The School of Agriculture, which offers a two-year course 
leading to a certificate. 

8. Graduate courses of one or two years leading to the degrees 
of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Civil Engineer, Electri- 
cal Engineer. Mechanical Engineer, and Chemical Engineer. 

For catalogue and other information, address, 

THOMAS D. BOYD. A. M., LL. D., 

President, 












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